Chiff and Fipple Forums

I am mainly a whistle player, but if I play a flute, it is 90% of the time
a piece of PVC I turned into a flute. I guess the answer is "a piece of
PVC schedule 40 pipe!"

I will buy a Doug Tipple flute in the future though.

In my .signature -- mostly a Copley Delrin, 6 key. However, I do keep my M&E keyless assembled and next to my bed.

John Gallagher large holed Rudall keyless D flute in boxwood.
Peter Noy large holed model six key D flute with the Pratten embouchure in blackwood.

I play a Windward (Forbes and Yola Christie) keyless D flute in blackwood. It's a Pratten-ish design.

It's my only flute, bought as a beginner to Irish flute a few years ago, on the premise that I wanted a flute that was definitely "better than me and not holding me back." So far, so good. I'm still trying to live up to the potential. If I make enough progress, then one day I'll treat myself to one with keys.

Burns D in Boxwood- 6 key. (My favorite)
Burns D Folk Flute
Somers D, Delrin- 8 key (Pratten). Keys added by Maurice Reviol.
M&E Ebonite 8 key
Pearl Open Hole with B Foot (Boehm System). Another favorite.
Yamaha (Boehm System) Closed hole with C foot
2 other Boehm System Flutes, one is open hole with a B foot, the other is a closed hole with C foot (can't recall makers at present)
Doug Tipple D Flute with lip plate and wedge (PVC)
German made, blackwood, 11 keyed flute sold/stamped in Norway (early 1900's), very good player and in very good condition.
That's about it for me, as far as flutes are concerned.

6 key Lehart
Keyless Doyle
Keyless Murray
Keyless delrin Forbes
Assorted bamboo Olwells

At $85 for a new flute you can't go wrong with a Tipple. I'm still playing his four piece white with lip plate and wedge after 12 years and I've bought and been given 11 wooden and polymer flutes since then, including a new Olwell Pratten, an Olwell RnR and an excellent M&E RnR that sings like a lark.

As for the Olwells, with their strong volume and ease of playing, they teach as they play - dexterity; rhythm; expressiveness; phrasing; when to place ornamentation perfectly for musicality and when ornamentation is just showing off. They are uncanny and on my side in all my musical endeavours ...

But the Olwells are wooden.

The antique wooden ones of my collection have cost hundreds in crack repairs and restoration. The sweetest one now lies neglected with yet another crack.

My Tipple half holes easily (!?), plays easily, and sounds much like the best of the rest according to my (polite?) listeners. I can play ITM aires, classical, operas, musicals' tunes, adult pop - seemingly anything on my soft or loud (mainly loud), in tune Tipple. I leave it assembled to pick up and play every day. It needs minimum maintenance, no rethreading, corking, greasing, oiling, humidifying, temperature control, or assembly before and disassembly after playing. I don't have to worry about CITES or aircraft air pressure either.

For the same low maintenance, and for pure classical sweetness I also play the always assembled polymer R&R M&E.

I’ll still buy flutes; but no more wooden ones thank you, even as a gift, however magic.

Best wishes,

Keith.

I play a keyless Lehart. Bought it a year ago, don't think I'll need another flute. Before that i played a WD Sweet Shannon keyless delrin flute, which is a fantastic player for the money. Stil blast out a tune or two on that one, but the Lehart takes the cake for me.

benhall.1 wrote: You'll find many people on this site with similar flutes, I should imagine.

I play old R&R(s) too.

For many years I played an original c1830 Rudall & Rose, in boxwood with ivory rings, and 8 sterling silver keys. The foot had pewter plugs which functioned perfectly.

Then I switched to a c1860 Koehler & Son, London, in cocus, with 8 German Silver keys. It had near-identical specs to Pratten flutes of the same period, and had that big Pratten sound.

I never played a new flute, except at the beginning; my first flute was an early Ralph Sweet, which I bought from him around 1977.

I play a Holmes-McNaughton D in pink ivory and a Corrigan F in blackwood. Both lovely flutes

Chris Wilkes 8-key cocus Rudall, early 1990s
Casey Burns keyless blackwood Rudall
Casey Burns boxwood folk flute

John Gallagher 8-key Pratten, Garry Somers delrin keyless in D, and a Copley delrin keyless in F

Glenn Watson blackwood 6 keys (amazing instrument).
M&E polymer keyless.

Garry Somers delrin keyless and a Sweetheart blackwood keyless both in D